In a curious development in the Assam Police’s crackdown on drugs, Kirti Kamal Bora, a former member of the All Assam Students union (AASU) was shot at during a drug bust in Nagaon on Saturday. But Bora says he was out buying medicines for his mother when he saw someone being beaten up. When Bora intervened, he got shot!

Now, the state government has not only formed a committee to look into the circumstances of the firing, but also benched the policemen involved in the firing. But there are growing concerns surrounding Assam’s virtual transformation into a police state.

What happened on January 22?

On the evening of Saturday, January 22, 2022, personnel of the Assam Police, acting on a tip off, arrived at Nagaon’s Kachalukha area in plainclothes. According to Nagaon Superintendent of Police Anand Mishra, “Two of our men were there to inspect… then people present there got suspicious and started questioning our men, who told them they were policemen. After that, chaos ensued and a brawl began.”

This was around the time Bora claims he was out purchasing medicines for his mother and saw a man being thrashed by a few others. “I was only going to intervene, when I was abused and pulled off the bike and suddenly shot at,” he told the Indian Express. But police claim Bora engage in violence forcing a policeman to shoot at him in self-defence. “As per his version, he was compelled to fire to save himself, otherwise he would have been killed,” said SP Mishra, adding that they also recovered drugs from Bora’s person, saying, “We are now trying to ascertain whether he was a consumer or a peddler.”

Bora not only sustained a gun-shot wound, but also other injuries to his left thigh, left arm and forehead. He is recuperating at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.

People’s reactions and the state government’s response

The AASU is an influential organisation in Assam, virtually inextricable from the historic Assam Movement that led to the signing of the Assam Accord and the resolution to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Additionally, the AASU has also opposed the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam.

Though Bora is no longer a member of the AASU, he is still a respected youth leader. It is therefore inevitable that there will be consequences if he is accused of being either a drug user or peddler, and worse shot at by the police on those suspicions.

AASU and the Assam Jatiyabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad held a protest rally to condemn the firing. AASU chief advisor Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjya said, “The incident has created an atmosphere of police terror in the state. Punish the guilty. Stop such acts as soon as possible.” He has demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Voices of dissent were raised by leaders of Opposition parties as well.

“Where’s the rule of law? This complete lawlessness is alarming,” said Debabrata Saikia, leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly.

Raijor Dal’s Akhil Gogoi, who is the Member of the Legislative Assemb;y (MLA) from Sivasagar said, “We condemn the police attack on Kirti Kamal Bora. The attack is a grotesque validation that Assam is under “Police Raj” and the situation is worse than “Secret Killings” of late 90’s. We demand the suspension of the Nagaon SP n arrest of the police officials involved in the incident.”

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Kumar Borah also condemned the attack saying, “Police attack on him is a reflection of licence to shoot given to the police by the CM. We have been witnessing such extra-judicial shootings in Assam in past months. Today it was Bora but tomorrow it could be anyone of us.”

Pradyut Bordoloi, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) from the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency said, “(The) tendency to shoot from the hip has become a new norm and then covering up the excesses has turned Assam into a police state. (We) demand (an) enquiry and action against police personnel involved in (the) unprovoked firing on KirtiKamalBora in Nagaon. (sic)”

Now, the Assam Police announced that the policemen involved in the firing had been benched, saying, “Police personnel involved in the shooting incident at Kachalukhua,Nagaon have been sent to Police Reserve with immediate effect.”

Police personnel involved in the shooting incident at Kachalukhua,Nagaon have been sent to Police Reserve with immediate effect.

We have requested the Govt to institute a Commissioner level enquiry into the incident. If any lapse is found, guilty personnel will be taken to task.

— Assam Police (@assampolice) January 23, 2022

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma too swung into action and the government announced the formation of a one-man committee comprising Additional Chief Secretary Shri Paban Borthakur to “facilitate an in-depth investigation into the circumstances leading to the police firing that took place on January 22 in Nagaon.”

Govt of Assam appoints a One-man Committee of Additional Chief Secretary Shri Paban Borthakur to facilitate an in-depth investigation into the circumstances leading to the police firing that took place on January 22 in Nagaon. pic.twitter.com/tws9ZmWaVz

— Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) January 23, 2022

Assam Police’s “War on Drugs” and the growing culture of “encounters”

Over the past few weeks, the Assam Police have gone all out in disrupting the supply chain on the drug trade in the state. Here are a few examples of different drug busts in the state:

A team of Barpeta PS conducted a covert operation today and was able to apprehend 2 persons.
On search, the following were recovered from their possession:
1. 25 nos suspected Heroin (33.40 gm with containers).
2.2 M/cycles
3.2 Mobile@DGPAssamPolice @gpsinghips @assampolice pic.twitter.com/ynCn3IievE

— Barpeta Police (@Barpeta_Police) January 23, 2022

In a span of 3 days, #TeamGoalpara again raided & destroyed #110Bighas of huge illegal #OpiumCultivation at *Balikachi-Sitalmari Char* of Chunari PS.We are determined to hit on #FinancesOfNarcoTrade#WarOnDrugs@CMOfficeAssam @DGPAssamPolice @gpsinghips @assampolice pic.twitter.com/XAOd0nPBVq

— Goalpara Police (@Goalpara_Police) January 23, 2022

#Warondrugs is on. Four peddlers arrested with NDPS material suspected to be heroine in Bihubor area. One dumper, one Maruti Alto car, cash Rs. 16300 and four mobile phones have been seized. Legal action initiated.@assampolice @DGPAssamPolice @gpsinghips @HardiSpeaks pic.twitter.com/IdZDrdnEIL

— Sivasagar Police (@SivasagarPol) January 23, 2022

In a raid led by DSP HQ , 5.02 gms suspected Brown Sugar recovered from possesion of 1) Pankaj Chakraborty &
2)Md Muhibur Rahman under Pulibor PS
Legal action being taken in this regard.#WarOnDrugs @assampolice @DGPAssamPolice @gpsinghips @IPSAnkurJain pic.twitter.com/ZsGtgyJKkL

— Jorhat Police (@Jorhat_Police) January 22, 2022

Additionally, there have been concerns about the growing instances of “encounters” or extra-judicial killings in the state. The incident in Nagaon presents what is being viewed by many as a combination of the two and therefore a possible attack on anyone the regime views as a dissenter.

Related:

Alienation and apathy: Assam government’s 2021 agenda?

Resurgence of anti-CAA wave in Assam

Assam police firing: State says acted in self defence as crowd attacked with lathis, bricks

Install CCTVs in police stations: CJP to Assam Police

Assam: Prime suspect in AASU leader’s lynching dies mysteriously in custody

The post Former AASU leader shot at in Assam appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Monday, November 29, All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) leader Animesh Bhuyan and two of his acquaintances were attacked by a mob in Jorhat in Assam. 28-year-old Bhuyan, who was the education secretary of AASU’s Brahmaputra Anchalik Committee in Golaghat district, died in hospital soon afterwards while being treated for his injuries. On Wednesday, the main accused in his lynching, a man named Neeraj Kumar Das was also killed after been run over by a vehicle, when he allegedly jumped out of the police vehicle transporting him. His family suspects this was an extra-judicial killing.

According to Jorhat Police, “Niraj Das @ Kola Lora jumped off from police car on way to recover concealed NDPS material but was hit by trailing escort car. 03 policemen also got severe injuries and under treatment. Niraj Das was declared brought dead at JMCH.”

Niraj Das@Kola Lora jumped off from police car on way to recover concealed NDPS material but was hit by trailing escort car. 03 policemen also got severe injuries and under treatment.
Niraj Das was declared brought dead at JMCH.@DGPAssamPolice @gpsinghips @CMOfficeAssam pic.twitter.com/DYYXmbS9XR

— Jorhat Police (@Jorhat_Police) December 1, 2021

According to The Telegraph, the incident took place at 2 A.M in an area that falls under the jurisdiction of the Cinnamara police outpost, which is around 11 kilometers from the Jorhat police station and about 300km northeast of Guwahati. The vehicles were driving along the Mariani road. Das was declared “brought dead” at the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital.

The mob-lynching on Monday

On November 29, Animesh Bhuyan and two others were lynched by a mob after a perceived altercation with a scooterist. According to the police, Bhuyan and the other two people had tried to help the “elderly ad inebriated” scooterist after he fell off his two-wheeler, reported The Telegraph. But the scooterist accused the trio of hitting his vehicle and knocking him over in the first place. This enraged people nearby and they physically assaulted the trio. Among the assailants was 34-year-old fish seller Neeraj Kumar Das, who was the son of the scooterist.

Arrests, protests and court appearances

13 people were arrested the following day and soon police started telling media persons that Neeraj Kumar Das was a “habitual offender” who had several drugs-related cases against him, and that Bhuyan’s vehicle had not hit his father’s scooter. Das was booked under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Meanwhile, AASU leader Dipanka Nath led a delegation to the Jorhat police demanding a swift trial and compensation for victims. AASU held a demonstration outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office from 10:30 A.M to 1:30 P.M, reported TT.

Interestingly, Das was not among the 12 people presented before the court who were remanded to judicial custody on Tuesday. He was to be presented before a court on Wednesday. Before that the police took him to a spot to reportedly recover a stash of drugs. This was when the accident occurred.

Family suspects foul play

Das’s sister-in-law told Indian Express that the family suspects his death to be a “planned murder”. She asked, “We do not believe what police are saying, that he wanted to flee. Under so much security, how could he?”

AASU demands separate law for mob lynching cases

It is noteworthy that AASU is one of the most influential organisations in Assam given its history of participating in the Assam movement that led to the signing of the Assam Accord. AASU has also been at the forefront of demanding reverification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). They have also been demanding a separate law to deal with cases of mob-lynching in the state.

Nath was quoted by TT as saying, “Lynching cases have been rising in Assam. We have had at least four-five cases, including the lynchings of Dr Deben Dutta and Debashish Gogoi, in the past couple of years. Before that we had the Jhankar Saikia case in 2013.” Nath gave the example of Bhuyan’s death to demand a separate law saying, “Animesh had tried to help the scooterist. A separate law and speedy trial and sentencing are required to check such incidents.”

The impact of Bhuyan’s death and AASU’s influence was clear when Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ordered the police to file a chargesheet within a month and that the case would be tried in a fast-track court. Tweeting in Assamese on November 30, CM Sarma said, “We are deeply saddened by the untimely and tragic death of a young man named Animesh Bhuiyan in a tragic incident in Jorhat.” He added, “All those identified as involved in the incident have already been arrested. We are instructing the administration to provide for the punishment of the guilty in the fast-track court. We have directed the Director General of Special Police, Shri GP Singh, to personally supervise the investigation into the incident and submit the chargesheet within a month.”

আমাৰ চৰকাৰৰ হৈ সতীৰ্থ মন্ত্ৰী ডাঃ ৰণোজ পেগুৱে দুৰ্ভগীয়া পৰিয়ালটোক সাক্ষাৎ কৰিছে আৰু অসমবাসীৰ হৈ গভীৰ সমবেদনা জ্ঞাপন কৰিছে৷ এই কৰুণ সময়ত ঘটনাত নিহত অনিমেষ ভূঞাৰ পৰিয়ালক আমাৰ চৰকাৰৰ তৰফৰ পৰা অত্যন্ত বিনম্ৰতাৰে ৫ লাখ টকাৰ এখন চেক প্ৰদান কৰা হ’ব৷ (৩/৩)

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 30, 2021 

Related:

AASU and Assam Gov’t agree to push for NRC reverification again
Gauhati HC asks Centre and Assam State gov’t to indicate stand on funding for Legal Aid

The post Assam: Prime suspect in AASU leader’s lynching dies mysteriously in custody appeared first on SabrangIndia.

At a meeting of the freshly minted Assam Accord sub-committee, representatives of the Assam State Government and the All Assam Students Union arrived at a consensus regarding the reverification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The Sub-Committee for the Implementation of the Assam Accord feels that there is a need for reverification of the NRC.

This is in line with the demands of the Assam state government as well given how they have openly rejected the NRC published on August 31, 2019, claiming it had names of “foreigners”. This despite a previous plea for reverification being shot down by the Supreme Court.

The Sub-committee for the Implementation of the Assam Accord was formed on October 1 “to examine and prepare a framework for implementation of all clauses of the Assam Accord in general” and with special emphasis on clauses 6, 7, 9 and 10.

It comprised eight members with Atul Bora, the Minister for Implementation of Assam Accord acting as Chairperson. Other members include two other ministers and five members of the AASU:

• Piyush Hazarika (Minister for Water Resources, Parliamentary Affairs)

• Ajanta Neog (Minister for Finance, Social Welfare)

• Dipankar Kumar Nath (President, AASU)

• Shankar Jyoti Baruah (General Secretary, AASU)

• Dr. Samujjal Bhattacharjya (Chief Advisor, AASU)

• Prakash Chandra Das (Advisor, AASU)

• Uddip Jyoti Gogoi (Advisor, AASU)

After the group held its second meeting on November 17 at Janata Bhawan in Guwahati, Atul Bora was quoted by the Sentinel Assam as saying, “At today’s meeting, the AASU favoured re-verification of the NRC as that has errors. The State Government has no objection to this as the NRC is erroneous. The State Government is not satisfied with the NRC. It should not have the names of foreigners.”

He also tweeted about discussing “Article 5 of the historic Assam Accord” and a variety of subjects related to “foreigners”.

আজিৰ সভাত ঐতিহাসিক অসম চুক্তিৰ ৫ নং দফা, সীমান্তৰ দ্বিতীয় শাৰীৰ প্ৰতিৰক্ষা অধিক কটকটীয়া কৰা, বিদেশী সমস্যা সমাধান তথা ইয়াৰ সৈতে জড়িত প্ৰশাসনিক ব্যৱস্থাটো শক্তিশালী কৰা, এনআৰচিক বিদেশী নামমুক্ত কৰা, বিদেশী ক্ষেত্ৰত চৰকাৰ কঠোৰ হোৱা আদি বিষয় আলোচনা কৰোঁ। pic.twitter.com/mkiLMm0K0g

— Atul Bora (@ATULBORA2) November 17, 2021

Samujjal Bhattacharjya told the Assam Tribune that there was already a petition in the Supreme Court regarding reverification, and that at the meeting, AASU also stressed the need for “strengthening mechanisms for the detection and deportation of foreigners” in order for which to happen “border police force will have to be strengthened. AASU stressed clause-wise implementation of the Assam Accord within a stipulated time.

It is noteworthy that this is not the first time the issue of reverification of the NRC has come up in Assam.

Reverification of NRC

Shortly after the final NRC was published on August 31, 2019, Assam Public Works, an NGO that is at the center of the NRC case in the Supreme Court demanded a complete reverification of the list. But the apex court rejected the plea on July 23, 2019 saying, “We have also read and considered the response of Mr. Hazela, the learned Coordinator on this aspect of the matter and specifically, the stand taken by him in his report dated 18.7.2019, which is to the effect that in the course of consideration/adjudication of the claims, re-verification to the extent of 27% has already been done. In fact, in the said report, the learned Coordinator has mentioned district wise figures of such re-verification which has become an integral part of the process of consideration of the claims and objections on account of the procedure adopted. In that view of the matter, we do not consider it necessary to accede to the prayers for a further sample verification as prayed for on behalf of the Union of India and the State of Assam.”

But the government of Assam remained adamant on reverification and in September 2020, made a formal submission before the Assam State Assembly demanding 10-20 percent reverification.

On October 13, 2020, Hitesh Dev Sarma, who had previously replaced Prateek Hajela as Assam’s State Coordinator of the NRC, issued a directive to Deputy Commissioners and District Registrars of Citizen Registration (DRCR) for deleting ineligible persons from the final draft of NRC. The ineligible persons include persons belonging to categories such as Declared Foreigner (DF), Doubtful Voter (DV) and Pending cases before Foreigners Tribunals (PFT), along with the descendants of persons belonging to these categories.

This led to two contempt petitions against Sarma in the Supreme Court: one by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) which states that the directive issued by him for reverification of final draft of NRC contravenes the court’s previous orders, and another by All Assam Minorities Students Union (AAMSU). Both parties were represented by Kapil Sibal and Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi. The petitions said that the October 13, 2020 directive for reverification issued by Hitesh Dev Sarma has caused delays in filing of appeals by excluded persons, leaving their identity in the country in much uncertainty. The petitioner stated that the unilateral directions amount to wilful disobedience of the Supreme Court’s orders passed on August 7, 2018, July 23, 2019 as well as judgment passed on August 13, 2019. The SC in January 2021 issued notice to Sarma in connection with the contempt petitions.

New petition for reverification

In May 2021, Assam’s State Coordinator of the NRC again moved Supreme Court demanding a reverification of the NRC published on August 31, 2019 saying that due to major irregularity many names of ineligible people had made it to the list.

In his intervention application, he also prays for the deletion of ineligible voters from the voters list and seeks updation of the 1951 NRC. The application states that there was absence of backend verification of electoral rolls and the process of Office and Field Verifications being used to check applications was unable to detect “Manipulated or manufactured secondary documents”. Here are the key allegations of discrepancies as stated in the application.

Eligible people excluded

The application also states that sample checks have revealed that out of the over 40 lakh people excluded from the draft NRC of 2018, over 3 lakh people did not apply for the claims and objections process. It was discovered that 50,695 of these people including 7,700 Original Inhabitants (OI) and 42,925 people from other states were eligible for inclusion.

Misuse of Original Inhabitant window

On the subject of OI the application further states that many people have misused the provision and therefore have been mistakenly included in the NRC. It further said that as many as 17,196 persons were included in the NRC even though the backend verification result of their documents was negative, because officers allowed them a chance to reverify their documents.

Allegations against Wipro

Allegations were also made against Wipro which was the System Integrator responsible for maintaining the NRC database. It said that till September 13 2019 Wipro was asked to add or delete names in the database by email, something that was illegal. The application gives an example of the discrepancy saying that while on August 31, 2019 the number of people excluded from the list was 19,06,657, it changed to 19,22,851 on September 14 2019!

Allegations against previous NRC Coordinator

Hitesh Dev Sarma took over from Prateek Hajela as NRC State Coordinator amidst the controversy that erupted shortly after the publication of the final NRC. He has now alleged that not only did Hajela not hand over the password of the official email ID, his computer was found to have been re-formatted and all previous data deleted.

Delay in issuing Rejection Slips

The NRC State Coordinator also submitted that “issues of substantive importance” had also come up during the preparation of rejection slips and thus led to delays. Rejection slips basically list the reason for rejection given in speaking orders by Disposing Officers as a part of the Claims and Objections Process. Over 19 lakh people had been excluded from the 2019 NRC and were required to undergo this process.

Prayers

According to LiveLaw, the NRC State Coordinator’s application makes two prayers:

– Pass appropriate directions for a complete, comprehensive and time-bound reverification of the draft NRC as well as the supplementary list of NRC under the provision of the Clause 4(3) of the Schedule of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National ldentity Cards) Rules 2003, where major irregularities have been highlighted in the body of the instant application herein above.

– Pass appropriate directions that the re-verification be done under the supervision of a monitoring committee in the respective districts and such committee may be preferably represented by the respective District Judge, District Magistrate & Superintendent of Police.

Now, given this let us examine in detail what the newly minter sub-committee is actually trying to accomplish.

What is the real agenda of the Assam Accord sub-committee?

As mentioned earlier, the Assam Accord sub-committee was formed “to examine and prepare a framework for implementation of all clauses of the Assam Accord in general” and with special emphasis on clauses 6, 7, 9 and 10.

As per an official notification issued by the Department of Implementation of Assam Accord of the Government of Assam, the sub-committee is also tasked with examining and preparing a framework for “updation of National Register of Citizens, issues of flood and erosion, rehabilitation of martyrs’ families and victims of Assam agitation and also in regard to the various problems faced by the state of Assam, including the potential for all round economic development.” The notification may be viewed here:

Now, let us examine each point individually.

Clause 6

This clause of the Assam Accord deal with “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards” that aim to “protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.”

Now, it is noteworthy that there is already a dedicated Committee to look into Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. The 14-member high-powered Committee had been constituted in July 2019 and had been given six months to submit its report, which it did just days before the deadline. In fact, as SabrangIndia has reported previously, in February 2020, the Clause 6 Committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had submitted a slew of recommendations pertaining to Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards for the interests and culture of Assamese people. This Report of the Committee on Implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord was however not made public at that time. Then, six months later, some members of the panel including Arunachal Pradesh Advocate General Nilay Dutta and three members of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) released the report independently.

As per the report, what is key to the Committee’s recommendations is a series of amendments to Article 371 B. The report says, “The Committee is of the opinion that to give full effect to its Recommendations, as stated hereinbelow, several Constitutional and legislative amendments will be necessitated. The existing Article 371-B in the Constitution of India will need to be amended.”

However, it is not known if this specific matter pertaining to a Constitutional amendment was discussed during the meeting held on September 6. What is known is what Bhattacharjya told media persons after the meeting, in broad terms. “Constitutional safeguards, economic safeguards, protection of tribal belts, blocks and government lands, NRC update, sealing India-Bangladesh border, permanent solution to floods and erosion, and rehabilitation of Assam agitation victims and martyrs’ families will be on the agenda of the committee,” he said.

Now, Bhattacharya has been named one of the members of the newly appointed sub-committee. Does bringing Clause 6 under the purview of the new sub-committee mean the government had decided to ignore the recommendations of the original Clause 6 Committee?

Clause 7

This clause of the Assam Accord says, “The Government takes this opportunity to renew their commitment for the speedy all round economic development of Assam, so as to improve the standard of living of the people. Special emphasis will be placed on education and science & technology through establishment of national institutions.”

Assam is famous for its tea estates. However, dissatisfaction has been brewing among tea workers given their abysmal wages. As SabrangIndia has reported previously, Assam’s Tea Tribes have been given a raw deal yet again, with the state’s Chief Minister steering clear of making any concrete commitments when it comes to specific demands of the community, despite holding a five-hour long meeting with representatives of the tea tribes as well as intellectuals on August 30. The final outcome of the meeting was just a promise to set up a few sub-committees to study the needs of the community and submit a report. There was no commitment on granting tea tribes Scheduled Tribes (ST) status or increasing daily wages in line with demands of tea estate workers.

Meanwhile, two of Assam’s most prominent paper mills belonging to Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd. (HPCL), have been lying defunct. As SabrangIndia has reported previously, as many as 1,200 workers had lost their jobs and therefore a steady source of income, when production stopped at the Cachar mill on October 20, 2015 and at the Nagaon mill from March 13, 2017. They had not been paid for over 50 months and had been demanding that the mills be revived. As many as 95 workers have died since the mills shut down. The mills had been put up for auction to pay off debts, pleas of revival having fallen on deaf ears. In fact, after failing to find any private entity to deposit earnest money for the auction, the government reached out to mill and workers representatives and announced a relief package worth Rs 570 crores. It has also agreed to take over assets of the mills spread of 2,000 acres. 

When it comes to other indicators of economic development, Assam’s oil and natural gas industry isn’t faring well either. Memories of the huge blowout of natural gas on May 27, 2020 and subsequent fire at the Baghjan oil well operated by Oil India Ltd (OIL) are still fresh. Then another explosion took place when three foreign experts were examining the site on July 22. What’s worse is that there have been huge delays in payment of compensation to the families of victims. The environmental impact of the fire was also huge given its proximity to the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. In fact, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed an interim penalty of Rs. 25 crores on Oil India Limited (OIL) due to its failure in stopping the fire in Assam’s Baghjan number 5 gas well, that adversely impacted the people and ecology in the area.

In an order passed in two original applications – one moved by environmentalist Bonani Kakkar and the other by Assam-based NGO Wild Life & Environmental Conservation Organisation, a bench comprising Justices SP Wangdi and Siddhanta Das directed, “In view of the prima facie case made out against OIL on the extent of damage caused to the environment and biodiversity, damage to both human and wildlife, public health and, having regard to the financial worth of the Company and the extent of damage, we direct the OIL to deposit an initial amount of Rs 25 Crores with the District Magistrate, Tinsukia District, Assam and shall abide by further orders of the Tribunal.”

The Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) had also served a closure notice on OIL on June 19, 2020, stating OIL had started operations “without obtaining prior consent to establish/consent to operate” from the pollution board. As per the notice, the operations at the Baghjan oilfield are a serious violation of the Water Act, 1974, Air Act, 1981 and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

The notice also stated that the production and drilling operations had been undertaken without proper safety and precautionary measures and that the company wasn’t submitting the Annual Report regularly under Section 9 of the Hazardous and Other Waste Management & Transboundary Movement Rules, 2016 which was a serious violation and liable to be punished under law in force.

It had also mentioned that Oil was destroying to aquatic life of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and the Maguri-Motapung wetland of endangered species in the name of exploring oil without any mitigation measures.

But this closure notice was later withdrawn, allegedly due to an “indirect role” played by Sarbananda Sonowal who was the Chief Minister of the state at that time. On June 22, he was quoted by local media as saying that “authorities need to be more sensible” mentioning that “a lot of industries right from the thermal power plant in Namrup, Assam Gas Company, Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited and all tea gardens in upper Assam are completely dependent on the OIL.”

Therefore, it appears that the government of Assam is determined to support industrialists in the state, but may not always have worker and ecological welfare as a priority.

Clause 9

This clause of the Assam Accord deals with security of the International Border. Assam shares a 280.06-kilometer-long border with Bangladesh, of which over 60 kilometers lie in the char or riverine area. It is this portion that is yet to be sealed off. The challenge arises due to the constant shifting of land masses due to a change in the flow of the rivers and tributaries in the region. A village on one char could get completely washed away, forcing people to take shelter on the nearest drier and higher ground in an erosion prone region. There are longstanding allegations that these shifting lands and course changing rivers enable illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to easily enter India. But given how these vagaries of nature are beyond the control of anyone, it is difficult to determine if the migrating villagers were originally on the Indian side of the border in the first place, as the border itself is hard to determine. The migration of char villagers also ties in with provisions of Clause 10.

Clause 10

This clause deals with prevention of encroachment on government lands. This subject is particularly topical in wake of the eviction drive being carried out in the char regions of Darrang district. Though it is nowhere near the international border, the evictions here are significant, because they appear to be selectively targeting families hailing from the Bengali-speaking Muslim minority community.

Here are a few examples of recent evictions:

June 6, 2021 – 74 families evicted from Kaki in Hojai District. Roughly 80 percent of the population here is Muslim.

June 7, 2021 – 49 families evicted from Dhalpur, Phuhurtuli in Darrang District. All, except one family, are Muslim.

August 7, 2021 – 61 families evicted from Alamganj in Dhubri District. 90 percent of the population here is Muslim. 

September 20, 2021 – Around 200 families evicted from Fuhuratoli, Dhalpur in Darrang District. All were Muslim families.

September 23, 2021 – 150 families evicted from Gorukhuti, Dhalpur in Darrang District. All were Muslim families.

Such was the hate for these alleged “encroachers” that when the families tried to protest the September 23 demolition, Assam Police personnel opened fire on them, killing two people including a 12-year-old boy, Sheikh Farid, who had nothing to do with the protest and was walking back home from an Aadhaar Centre.

There is growing suspicion that the eviction drives are just another method to get rid of Bengali speaking Muslims because not enough of them could be evicted using the National Register of Citizens (NRC). All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi said as much when he tweeted, “Their names are in 1951 NRC & 1966, 1970-71 voter lists. Their names now appearing in NRC is seen as huge slaps on the face of “anti-foreigner movement” NRC 2019 demolished the myth of illegal migration, all these decades they said there are 5-7m illegal migrants in Assam. But NRC excluded “only” 1.9m – out of which Muslims will be around 4-5L, that too mostly women & children – which means almost every excluded individual has family members in NRC. The reason to demand “re-verification” of NRC is also this failure to exclude “enough” Muslims.”

NRC excluded “only” 1.9m – out of which Muslims will be around 4-5L, that too mostly women & children – which means almost every excluded individual has family members in NRC. The reason to demand “re-verification” of NRC is also this failure to exclude “enough” Muslims 6/n

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 24, 2021

NRC Update

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was updated in Assam as part of a Supreme Court monitored process. The mammoth task involved verifying 6 crore documents submitted by 3.29 crore people. Over 40,000 government employees were engaged in the NRC update process under which 2,500 Nagrik Seva Kendras (NSK) were set up.

When the final draft of the NRC was published on July 31, 2018 and it excluded over 40 lakh people sending shockwaves across the state! An Additional Draft Exclusion list of 1,02,462 names of people excluded from the NRC was released on June 26, 2019. This list named people who were previously included in the NRC but were subsequently found to be ineligible for inclusion, mostly on account of being siblings and family members of people who had been declared foreigners. What followed was an elaborate Claims and Objections process, after which the final NRC was published on August 31, 2019. This excluded a total of 19,06,657 people, at least two thirds of whom were women – many of them unlettered housewives and grannies!

However, as alleged by many, including the aforementioned Owaisi, they failed to exclude enough Bengali-speaking Muslims. This could explain the Assam government’s reluctance to accept the NRC 2019, and repeated insistence of reverification despite the Supreme Court having shot down the request once.

Related:

Was the entire Assam NRC process in vain?

Yet another NRC reverification plea moved before SC

NRC officials awaiting SC order before issuing rejection slips

Government still evasive about Clause 6 Committee report

Assam Tea Tribes served another set of vague promises

Assam gov’t announces relief package for defunct paper mills

Another explosion at Baghjan oil well injures three foreign experts

National Green Tribunal slaps Rs. 25 crore fine on Oil India Limited for gas well blowout

Are encroachment removal drives in Assam selectively targeting the minority community?

Assam Police Firing: 12-year-old shot dead while returning home from Aadhaar centre!

The post AASU and Assam Gov’t agree to push for NRC reverification again appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), an organisation that was at the forefront of the Assam movement that led to the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985, is now strongly opposed to the incumbent BJP coming to power in the state again.

AASU held protests in Dhemaji and waved black flags as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the district and held a rally in Silapathar, reported The Sentinel. Sit-in protests were also reported from the other parts of the state such as Guwahati, Morigaon, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Tezpur and Bongaigaon. AASU accused the PM of playing with the emotions of the people of the state and ignoring burning questions.

AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath said, “When the Centre formed the High Level Committee (HLC) on Clause 6, the government had promised to implement it in letter and spirit within one week of receipt of the report. However, no action has been taken yet.”

It is noteworthy that, on February 2, 2021, in response to a series of questions raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) Abdul Khaleque and Pradyut Bordoloi from Assam, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) gave a series of boiler-plate responses and non-answers. Khaleque and Bordoloi had raised questions about details of the Clause 6 Committee, its functioning, its recommendations and steps that had been taken to implement said recommendations. 

BJP’s flip-flop on Clause 6 Committee

In February 2020, the Clause 6 Committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had submitted a slew of recommendations pertaining to Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards for the interests and culture of Assamese people. The 14-member high-powered Committee had been constituted in July 2019 and had been given six months to submit its report, which it did just days before the deadline. SabrangIndia had previously reported on how it appeared that the MHA was distancing itself from the Clause 6 Committee report and recommendations.

This Report of the Committee on Implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord was however not made public at that time. Then, six months later, some members of the panel including Arunachal Pradesh Advocate General Nilay Dutta and three members of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) released the report independently.

As per the report, what is key to the Committee’s recommendations is a series of amendments to Article 371 B. The report says, “The Committee is of the opinion that to give full effect to its Recommendations, as stated hereinbelow, several Constitutional and legislative amendments will be necessitated. The existing Article 371-B in the Constitution of India will need to be amended.”

SabrangIndia had reported on a meeting that was held at the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on September 20, 2020, in which one of the key topics of discussion was the next steps to be taken with respect to the Clause 6 committee report. It was attended by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, State minister and North Eastern Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Joint Secretary (North-east) Satyendra Garg, and Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna, among others. They discussed the future course of action on implementation of the Clause 6 report, grant of Scheduled Tribe status to six communities, implementation of the Bodo Accord and the vital NRC issue, among others.  

Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that since the Clause 6 Committee Report has contents that may require legal amendments, the Union Home Minister has instructed the Chief Minister that the State government should have the report examined by legal experts and determine if there is any need for amendments, and then advise the Centre accordingly.

Bevy of sops and ‘developmental projects’ announced, but radio silence on CAA

State Assembly elections are due in Assam in April-May this year, and the central and state governments have left no stone unturned in wooing voters. PM Modi has visited the state thrice over the last 30 days already, this time on the pretext of inaugurating oil and gas projects. On his Jan 23 visit, he announced land allotment certificates for over 1 lakh families while addressing a rally in Sivasagar. On February 7, he visited the state to launch a road development scheme and held a rally in Dhekiajuli. He has also launched educational institutes in the state.

During all his rallies, Modi has artfully dodged the prospect of making any binding commitment to either the implementation of the recommendations of the Clause 6 committee, or the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that has been protested tooth and nail by various Assam organisations.

Instead, he has relied on his old strategy of focusing on ‘developmental’ projects and blaming previous governments for the lack thereof. At the Silapathar rally, Modi said, “Despite immense potential, previous governments treated the North Bank of Brahmaputra (in Assam) in a step-motherly manner. Connectivity, hospitals, educational institutions or industry was not a concern of these earlier governments.” Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was also present at this rally along with Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi and Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

This is in complete contrast to an unambiguous promise by Rahul Gandhi that CAA will never be allowed in Assam. Speaking at a pre-poll rally in Shiv Sagar, Gandhi had said, “Whatever happens, the CAA will not happen. Hum do, hamare do, acchi tarah se sun lo, (CAA) nahi hoga, kabhi nahi hoga, (Us two, our’s two, listen carefully, it will not happen, it will never happen).”

The state of Assam that has its own violent history when it comes to the citizenship issue. The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 by Gandhi’s father and former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi, after a six-year long agitation in the state that saw the killings of many student leaders who had been protesting the alleged influx of illegal Bangladeshi migrants into the state.

Assamese people have raised concerns about a change to the demography of the state due to this alleged influx. This is why they fully supported the update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the final NRC was published on August 31, 2019. However, they see the CAA as a threat because this allows the granting of citizenship to refugees from Bangladesh. The Assam Movement was never communal, the opposition was to all “outsiders” including Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh. This is why Assam saw some of the most vehement anti-CAA protests.

Related:

Government still evasive about Clause 6 Committee report

Clause 6 committee report to be examined by legal experts?

Constitutional and legislative amendments needed to implement Clause 6 of Assam Accord: Committee

Is MHA distancing itself from Assam Clause 6 committee report?

The post Black flags welcome Modi in Assam appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Amid the rising protests against the  hurriedly enacted Citizenshiop Amendment Act (CAA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Assam has been cancelled. The PM was scheduled to visit Assam on Friday to inaugurate the third edition of Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati.

“The present situation in Assam is not appropriate for the Prime Minister to visit Assam,” intelligence sources informed.Khelo India Games, Avinash Joshi said that they have been informally informed that Modi would not visit Guwahati to inaugurate the sports event.

“Khelo India, Bhago Modi” slogan will greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he visits Assam to inaugurate the Khelo India Youth Games on Friday here, warned the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) at a massive protest meeting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Jonai, Dhemaji district, on Tuesday. According to reports in The Telegraph, the AJYCP urged people to join the anti-CAA protest movement in the state and to raise their voice against the “draconian” law in such a way that the “Prime Minister gets scared hearing your chant”.

Participating in the Jonai rally, about 530km from here, AJYCP general secretary Palash Changmai said: “Modi is going to be greeted with a massive protest if he visits Guwahati during Khelo India. People of Assam will chant ‘Bhago Modi-Bhago Modi’ if he visits Assam.”

To drive home his message against the CAA, Changmai said: “I will say ‘Khelo India, you will respond by saying Bhago Modi’.” The crowd responded enthusiastically.

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) too has warned Modi of facing massive protests if he visits Assam.

That the anti-CAA brigade has grown restive was evident when a section of the crowd at the abandoned t20 match between India and Sri Lanka here on Sunday shouted slogans against chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, his cabinet colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma and the ruling BJP despite unprecedented security at the stadium.

The AJYCP is one of the organisations along with AASU, KMSS and citizens’ groups who are at the forefront of the protests against the CAA in the state along with 30 other indigenous groups. The anti-CAA brigade feels the law will allow illegal Bangladeshis to acquire citizenship, which will pose a threat to the identity, culture, language and land of the indigenous Assamese. The government has, however, been trying to convince the masses that there will be no fresh influx and there is no threat to their existence.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s scheduled visit to Guwahati on December 15 had to be postponed due to escalating protests and violence against the CAA in the state. During a protest on December 11, goons vandalised all platforms, welcome gates and flower pots installed for Abe’s visit. Officially five persons died in the protests.

“We are not against sports, but Modi has to know the mind of the people of the state over the CAA. We, however, urge the sportspersons from Assam to stand by the people of Assam like the artistes and other communities,” Changmai said.  The AJYCP castigated Modi and Sonowal for allegedly working against the interest of the larger Assamese society.

“Unless the people of Assam shun the BJP and its parent organisation, the RSS, the people of Assam will not be safe. We need to uproot them from Assam to protect our state and its culture,” Changmai said, adding that the people of Assam would decide their future and “not a government which doesn’t respect people’s sentiment”.

AJYCP members also took out a protest rally in Sivasagar district. 

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The Bhupen Hazarika memorial at Jalukbari, Guwahati saw a protest rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) organized by the artistes of the state and backed by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU). Thousands of people were present wearing black masks as a mark of their angst against the CAA and vowed to uproot the current government if it failed to respect public sentiment

This rally took place a day after a massive gathering of BJP workers at Khanapara ground in a show of strength for CAA.

The rally covered a distance of 14 kms from Jalukbari to Dighalipukhuri. AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said, “The BJP showed its strength with its party workers but the anti-CAA movement has public support. In a democracy, public is the power and this movement has witnessed spontaneous public support from day one.” AASU maintained its stance that their movement will continue until their goal of securing constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people of Assam was achieved. AASU general secretary also accused the government of hiring goons to attack protestors and warned the government against applying force or power to dominate their movement.

BJP President’s statement that  “duck sellers, chicken sellers, vegetable vendors and egg sellers” were participating in the anti-CAA rallies, invited a response from Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) general secretary Palash Changmai, who said, “Why can’t vegetable vendors or chicken sellers join the movement? If a tea seller can become the Prime Minister then I am sure a vegetable seller is also a patriot and can assert his democratic voice.”

Zubeen Garg, a popular singer in the state has been voicing his agitation against the government since the beginning of the anti-CAA protests and was leading the artists community rally as well. He said, “The government is not listening to our voices and so we have worn these black masks in protest. If needed we are ready for a political alternative. We are ready to uproot this government if it continues to be blind and deaf to the people’s cry.”

Popular singer Manas Robin said the artiste community would decide to take forward the protest against the amended citizenship law on January 17, when the state celebrates Shilpi Divas in memory of Assam’s cultural icon Jyoti Prasad Agarwala; while also calling upon various communities and organizations in Assam to join hands in opposing the new citizenship law.

These protests are braving the cold and harsh winter rains to stand in protest. Another protest organized by Shilpi Samaj, an artist fraternity in Assam saw Dibrugarh-based musician Prasanta Bordoloi addressing the gathering at Jeotimoral Sangha playground in Dibrugarh on December 5. He said that CAA was against the people of Assam. He added, “The ongoing anti-CAA movement reflects our rational and emotional sides. The CAA is against the secular fabric of the country and will divide the people of India. We, the artiste fraternity, assembled here to protest against it. The government has forcefully imposed it on Assam for vote bank politics.”

This gathering saw people singing songs of Bhupen Hazarika and the common sentiment among the protestors remained that Assam is not a dumping ground for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and that CAA violates the Assam Accord and hence the protests would go on until CAA is scrapped.

Related:

Bengal: Matuas and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha march against CAA on same day
Rain fails to dampen spirit of protest
Streets around Jamia coloured live with protest art
Mumbai comes in to ‘Occupy Gateway’ in solidarity with JNU students
Mangaluru: Fact-finding report unearths the reality of police brutality at anti-CAA protests
Protest against NRC & CAA
Nationwide protests against CAA-NPR-NRC and Trans Act 2019 commence

The post Come rain or cold, Assam protests go on appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In wake of Union Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah’s recent statement renewing the government’s commitment to bringing about the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), the All Assam Students Union (AASU) has warned against taking any steps in the direction.

Shah had on Tuesday at a rally in Kolkata said that the government was determined to conduct National Register of Citizens (NRC) across India after passing the CAB. This clearly did not go down well with the AASU, an influential student body that was behind the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985 and update of the NRC in Assam thereafter.

AASU president Dipanko Kumar Nath said, “Time and again we’ve made it clear that Assam and other States in the Northeast are not dumping grounds for Bangladeshis. Because of its comfortable strength in the Parliament, the government at the Centre is ignoring the wishes and aspirations of the people of Assam and the entire Northeast. The government is out to impose the CAB on us.” He added, “The cut-off year – March 24 midnight, 1971 – doesn’t discriminate between Hindus and Muslims. The Assam Accord asserts the cut-off date, without making mention of any religion. If the BJP goes ahead with imposing the CAB on Assam and the Northeast, it will have to hit the roadblock of the indigenous people of this region.”  

AASU general secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi said, “AASU would never accept violation of the Assam Accord.” He added that the student body “will be forced to launch a democratic movement if Center tries to impose the bill against the wishes of the people.”

The AASU’s anti-‘outsider’ stand is what spearheaded the campaign for updating the NRC. However, it is in sharp contrast to the CAB that offers Indian citizenship to Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Christian and Parsee refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. This is because AASU does not want any Bangladeshis, including Bangladeshi Hindus, to be granted citizenship.

Related:

NRC and CAB: The cauldron boils over in the NE

The post AASU warns Amit Shah against fresh push for CAB appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image courtesy: https://cjp.org.in/assam/

Meanwhile, in a sharp reaction against the recent announcements –especially the one to provide legal aid and extend the deadline to file appeals to 120 days– the All Assam Students Union (AASU) has vociferously opposed these measures to assist those excluded. In a detailed statement published by the Assam Tribune on August 24, AASU has accused the government(s) of ‘going soft on illegal migrants.’

Meanwhile, in a lead editorial published today, the Assam Tribune has issued words of caution given the ground level situation likely to result with the publication of the NRC final list on August 31. The leading Guwahati-based newspaper argues that given the hundreds of thousands of exclusions that could result after the publication of the list, members of the Foreigners Tribunals must be individuals of competence. Serious questions on the competence and capability of the newly appointed members –with allegations of ‘targets’ being set by the state government – have been recently raised.

On the question of legal aid to those excluded, and AASU’s exceptions, the newspaper states that “there can be nothing wrong with providing legal help to the needy, as the NRC updating process –an executive exercise –will naturally be subject to judicial scrutiny. The basic tenets of justice require that those not having their name in the NRC must get the required access to legal resources to address their grievances.”  These are the basic, and non-negotiable, features of not just a society based on natural justice and the rule of law, but also on Constitutional principles. Unfortunately, a process that has had widespread social acceptance and sanction (a ‘just and fair’ NRC) has, over the past five years been manipulated and tainted by executive interference.
 

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